If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

My Bandits story so far...

Well, here's a little bit on my experiences building up my first XL5 Bandit from Traxxas.

First bought her here in West Aus about 2 years ago,($320 AUD here in AUS for an XL5 :O), had a bit of fun with it out front with the kids etc in stock form, she then went away for a little while due to moving house.

Stock bandit with Black chrome wheels and rear Anaconda tire:

Fast forward 2 years and I had got her out of the box again and wanted to use it again.
I found out my stock transmitter for some reason was faulty, so took it to my local hobby store and they replaced it and re programmed the bandit for me.

Having used it again for a week or so I went back to the hobby store, which had recently opened, and checked out the new parts/upgrades available for the Bandit.

Needless to say the path to hopping up the Bandit had begun.

First was the black chrome wheels with the Anaconda street tires! - there's something about the tread that draws me to them!. Lots of grip on the finished bitumen road too.

Next i replaced the wheel hubs with the red bearing fitted, anodised aluminium versions from Traxxas. Not to long after that I bought the Hardened steel rear yokes and then while viewing the Hobbywing EZrun brushless systems in the windows, decided to make the move to a brushless system. So paid for the 4300kv 9T with 35amp esc kit from HW and bought a Venom 2S 5300mah 70/140C high punch Lipo!, my first!.

Got her all together and before taking her out, put in the optional 31T pinion. Still had the stock 76T spur.

Oh man she was fast! ever so much more than the XL5 and Titan set up.
Next came the want to upgrade the transmitter and receiver!, bought a FLYSKY GT3-C initially -locally, and used it maybe 3 times, on the fourth outing i did a run down my street and it rolled to a stop on the main road! eeekk!, ran out there fast before it got flattened by a passing car! lol my heart was beating pretty fast by this time!.

With the Venom 2S and FlySky GT3-C:

Took the car back to the local store and gave the fella the run down on it turning itself off and not coming back on.

Turned out to be a dud transmitter. So paid a little more and bought the Traxxas TQi 4 channel with the iPhone dock. Don't know why I didn't get that the first time!. Back to normal now.

By this time I had found A Main Hobbies! and so began the spending of monies on more aluminium hop ups which included the red anodised castor blocks,(had to drill the bottom A arm hole in the blocks with a 1/8th drill bit to fit the Bandits pins), STRC front shock tower in gun metal, STRC bulkhead in red, red shock caps and all the vxl turn-buckle camber & toe links. Next followed the Traxxas aluminium red steering bell crank and large black RPM front bumper. Also got the traxxas wheelie bar! and a few days later sussed out some red anodised rubber wheels with bearings for it about an hours drive from where i am.

Photo with more hop ups:

Bellcrank photo etc:

Lastly the fibreglass tie rod on the front with the VXL hex head screws and A arm pins.

The front end is very solid and holds very well on the high speed runs on the street.

The Bandit is mainly a Street Bandit now, with the occasional run on the large flat manicured grass ovals from time to time. I swap over to some black wheels with spiked tires for that.

The Grass Cat wheels/tires I call them, photo below - can also see the top vent hole has been cut out, funnels cold air right onto the esc/fan!

I also ordered a Greaves Edition body through my local store but apparently its on back order, so my guess is as good as anybodies as to how long that will take to show up. It will finish the looks off nicely though.

Fast forward 4 weeks and I've gotten used to the new brushless setup on the high punch 2S 5300 lipo. So back through the local store and found the VXL Velineon system there, a lot more money here than buying overseas, eg $260 price tagged on the kit! :O. I had also heard some bad stories on the stock VXl 3s esc and over heating...

Also noticed a nice Hobbywing SCT 4 pole 3656 4000kv 9T motor sitting in the window in its box with the 120amp waterproof ESC and program card. It was reasonably priced and I wanted to go up to a 3 cell lipo so this would be a great choice in my opinion, (for me to run a 3S on my last brushless system i would need to find a 6v line to solder the esc's fan to, so the 11.1v from the 3s wouldn't fry it!)... more stuffing around that i didn't really want to do.

Any how, picked up the next brushless 4 pole 3656 motor and got a great fella to solder the wires on for me and change the battery end to the deans style connector as that's what the Esc had on it already.

Photo as she stands now - have also adjusted the shock spacers so she sits lower, helps so she doesn't flip over.

Didn't have the tie bar and turn-buckle toe links on in the above shot, but they're on in the front on suspension shot above more.

Photo of new 3S 5000mah 30/60C Lipo & 120a HW waterproof ESC:

Got the car back home and got her turned on and, Holy mackerel! she moves like a car possessed!, wheelies at any speed and I'm going to need to find a LOT bigger straight of road to run her on!.

Any ways I'm sussing out the Pro-line race transmission now, probably don't need it but hey... its an addiction! lol
Also have a set of 1/8 funny car front skinny wheels/tires coming to try and get fitted to her for speed runs!. Looking at fitting a set of big bore shocks also.

At the end of the day I figure... I don't drink or smoke, so there's a big saving right there that can fund my traxxas habit.

Hey its me Jeremy Kidd from on traxxas Australia and youtube, the one who suggested the rpm bumper. Just want to say how awesome your bandit has turned out to be and the look of it would show up any other bandit owner in my opinion! Keep up the good work and I think you should now get the summit some upgrades (make it green themed). PS still admiring the shots you took of her, you are an amazing camera man!

Hey Jeremy! i do remember you, do appreciate the rpm bumper suggestion, gives me good piece of mind .

I'm really happy with how the Bandit has turned out so far. I think i'll be sticking with its current set up for a while to come, just want to change the body on it for the final aesthetics.

I have started on the Summit already with the two sets of proline wheels and tires and the green hex nuts etc, dont need to do too much on it really, most else i would do is put the top light bar on, get stronger rear springs and enjoy it!, already an awesome truck, especially running on the two Lipo's .

I have a 1/8 NHRA Force funny car rocking up today from the USA, shold be here any minute, got it for $449 delievered which im really happy with, again something different form what i have already, a welcome addition. Just can't believe they go for $700 here in Aus! :O.

Thanks for the kind words on my photos, my passion for photography started about 12 years ago, and keeps evolving all the time , also great when i earn good $$ from photography/graphics jobs , more rc $$! haha.

Hey Jeremy! i do remember you, do appreciate the rpm bumper suggestion, gives me good piece of mind .

I'm really happy with how the Bandit has turned out so far. I think i'll be sticking with its current set up for a while to come, just want to change the body on it for the final aesthetics.

I have started on the Summit already with the two sets of proline wheels and tires and the green hex nuts etc, dont need to do too much on it really, most else i would do is put the top light bar on, get stronger rear springs and enjoy it!, already an awesome truck, especially running on the two Lipo's .

I have a 1/8 NHRA Force funny car rocking up today from the USA, shold be here any minute, got it for $449 delievered which im really happy with, again something different form what i have already, a welcome addition. Just can't believe they go for $700 here in Aus! :O.

Thanks for the kind words on my photos, my passion for photography started about 12 years ago, and keeps evolving all the time , also great when i earn good $$ from photography/graphics jobs , more rc $$! haha.

Cheers JK

Stach

Thanks And I can now remember those photos of the summit with the sand paws and the mashers with the green hexes. I also remember you putting that other post up about being on the edge of you seat deciding whether or not to buy the funny car. I think you should keep making videos, as well as posting updates of your cars on here, youtube and facebook. Cant wait to see the funny car!

Hey Stach , this one lives on the Gold Coast in Queensland ! That is a sweet ride but I think that 80 mph on anacondas is a bit out there , I run 25c 5000 3s lipo and 26/76 gears and the best so far for me is 73.4 kmh .... Although I will stand corrected , I have lowered my front shocks 10mm and 8mm in the rear but with anacondas was absolutely uncontrolable tyre ballooning out of this world , but running belted gt slicks is another story , I will put my 31 pinion in an see how it goes , I'm not saying your not doin 80mph but I do know the tribulations I've had with mine , VIVA LA BANDITO

Thanks Ipaint, keep on with it mate, yeah as i said my speed rating is an estimate, but i am looking at better tyres for mine when i do finally do a recorded run. The new Hobbywing 4 pole motor on this 30/60C 5000mah 3S is incredible! torque and next to no heat after running. The timing on this ESC is also set at its lowest setting, with it not putting out much heat, im tempted to up the timing, though with how fast it is right now, i don't know if id be able to keep it from taking off lol.

I reckon this Hobbywing motor/esc set up craps on the velineon system,(just my opinion), i was looking at going the velineon but after seeing a few motors that had lunched them selves and a few esc's that had over heated, decided on the SCT 4 pole 3656 4000kv(540 Sized motor), and 120A water/dust proof ESC from HW. Few have gone to this HW set up from the velineon, especially in the Slash's.

Im going to try and fit a set of the NHRA funny car skinnys to the front and some harder rears that wont balloon much. Trust me going from 26/76 to 31/76 makes a good difference!, make sure you have enough room to slow down or a net!

Latest on my Bandit - Have upgraded the stock shocks with a set of the Pro-line power strokes front and rear. Night and day difference with the shocks... running a 40 wt silicone oil in them.

Have also ordered the black lower and upper chassis, will do away with the grey!.
Also coming to finish the Bandit off is the Pro-line transmission!, excited about that!.
Have also decided to put on the Rustler length rear RPM A arms/camber links/drive shafts to give the new shocks some more room to be adjusted if need be, will also give Phoenix, so I have named her, a wider stance for better stability.

I'll give you a very quick summary of my Bandit story so far, from 1997 to 2012 my Bandit was a beloved basher. Lightly modified for durability and easy handling it provided me with hours of fun. Back then it looked like this:

I don't know why after many years as a basher I decided to try racing, since summer 2012 I've been slowly modifying it for racing. I've been through many tyres, springs, and changed many parts. Occasionally doing the wrong thing but eventually getting to a very well set up car, along the journey I did consider buying a race buggy out of frustration. But finally I have a Bandit worthy of being called a race Bandit! Handling is phenomenal, absolutely on par with other buggies at the track! Even keeping up with and battling closely with the mid-motored buggies it initially struggled to keep up with.

Anyway, here is what it looks like today:

I can't get over how well this car handles now. My build thread is well due for an update, as I finally feel I can claim "success".

Local club runs 1/8 nitro class and ' run what ya brung ' , no dedicated 2wd electric buggy class , that track is under 2 meters of water at the moment , is flooding badly south of Brisbane Queensland Australia again.......

As I was saying a few posts above I have the rustler RPM rear A arms, camber links and drive shafts etc coming to give the shocks some more room for adjustment and to help with high speed stability. Will build it all once the black chassis pro line trans gets here.

Do have an RPM rear shock tower coming and someone else has sent me a new Integy alum/carbon fiber rear shock tower as well.

Have a whole lot of upgrades here now- have fitted the black upper and lower chassis and Pro-line Transmission. Max pinion I can fit with the stock 86T spur is the 26T with a proper mesh.

I have the Pro-line 78T spur coming soon so I'll put the 31T pinion back in then.

Didnt fit the RPM rear shock tower as i really want the mounting holes for the wing. Have ordered a new body for the Bandit - mainly for show/photo's, so the current body will be used for runs as i have the Go Pro attachment on it.

Some quick teaser pics - Proper images to come in the next two weeks once the new body gets here.

For anyone wondering about putting on the black upper and lower chassis - all I can say is,... Do it!, it looks so much better!.

Last but not least I put the Rustler rear end on her. The stock Bandit 2.2" wheel spokes touch on the end of the longer A arms so I had to trim the back of the spokes a little to stop any rubbing while driving it.

You can also see in one image the difference in length between the Stock Bandit A arms and the Rustler length A arms.

Well, started my morning with the thought that I'd pull my new proline gearbox apart and makes ure i wasnt missing any teeth on any gears - as had some slight ticking at lower speeds.

Pulled it apart and inspected everything - no teeth missing and looked good so put it back together and went outside for a test run. Now the ticking i could only hear very seldomly - I'm wondering if it has anything to to with my Steel yoke joints... ?.

Any how I thought - I may as well put the Traxxas steel idler gear into the pro-line transmission to beef it up a little anyways so I did.

Now during testing my steering went funny, I'd turn the transmitter wheel and the steering would jerk and not come back to centre right away - i though, "Hello the servo must be on the way out". Sure enough, I connected up a new Hitec high torque servo and the steering was back to normal, so I installed that and she's great again. I will use this current servo until I get the Protek high speed/high torque servo from A Main a bit later on.

So nearly a full 9 hours later, lol!, Ive just finished playing around with the Pro-line transmission's slipper clutch settings and have now got it to a spot i like - eg fast as all **** and wheelies with ease at any speeds - roughly 3 turns from all the way in.

The ticking has now dissapated since doing the metal idler gear but i swear sometimes i think i can hear it... maybe im just paranoid now lol.

Stanislaw Rogalski is that you!!!!! the car looks awesome and i have the same Esc and motor combo they ran greagt i got a rock stuck in my bearing and then it went bad messed up my magnet but i still have the esc!! and motor again it ran awesome and the esc is so smooth!

Stanislaw Rogalski is that you!!!!! the car looks awesome and i have the same Esc and motor combo they ran greagt i got a rock stuck in my bearing and then it went bad messed up my magnet but i still have the esc!! and motor again it ran awesome and the esc is so smooth!

Ahh dude! that sucks about the motor! - geared right, the 3656 4 pole 9T 4000kv hobbywing motor is an animal! - current gearing im running 26/86 and she flies. 19/86 gearing saw her accelerate fast and run out of top end quickly.

I have to agree, the 120A SC8 esc is awesome! easy to use and very smooth as you said.

I have to admit, I'd be a little scared of setting up that tranny so it wheelies at any speed. Given its reputation I'd be tempted to set it up racer just under wheelie point.

Then again, Bandit are light compared to a Slash... So perhaps it will survive it just fine

RC-nightmare? As in THE RC-nightmare? From Youtube?

Cuna - I've got it to the point that shes not bang on from take off, but still hooks up well when you ask it too, thinking more im pretty sure its set about 3 1/2 turns from full in. The metal idler sure helps imo.